I'll have to say it looks like a Premiere box with a new faceplate on it, but it does look nice. I do like the new remote as well, it looks a bit shorter and fatter. Someone needs to buy one now and tell us all about it

Yeah, I mentioned that in my first post, I'm pretty sure it's just the apps as well. Still, will go a long ways to speed things up, both in performance and update frequency. Netflix and YouTube can auto update on the fly without involving TiVo at all.

Definitely no built-in MOCA on the 4 tuner model. Plus, I'm a bit peeved by this in the FAQ:

Quote:

Many cable companies require that a technician come to your home to install the card, but some allow subscribers to install the cards themselves. Call your cable company and inquire about their CableCARD installation policy.

Just TiVo handing out friendly advice in their FAQ's. Supposed too, blah, blah - this is easier and correct.

If the FCC regulations are still in affect, then it is certainly not correct and TiVo is enabling some cable operators to rip people off. As of November 2011, the regulations not only require all cable operators to allow self-install of CableCARDs, they must explicitly inform customers of this option. The only exception to this rule is "...if your equipment manufacturer or vendor does not provide you with instructions on how to install a CableCARD and offer a toll-free telephone number for product support."

I thought the rule was that they are required to offer self installs of CableCARDs if they offer self installs of any other equipment. If they don't offer any self installs then I think they are still allowed to require a truck roll. Also I think there are still a few small cable companies with exemptions. TiVo is likely just covering their bases.

I thought the rule was that they are required to offer self installs of CableCARDs if they offer self installs of any other equipment. If they don't offer any self installs then I think they are still allowed to require a truck roll. Also I think there are still a few small cable companies with exemptions. TiVo is likely just covering their bases.

That's exactly how I remember it being, and have not run across any chatter about it being changed (yet).

The cableco's are fighting the integration ban (requiring that they don't integrate the cablecard functions as part of the unit, in a non-removable way). If there should come a ruling on the matter, and they accidentally word something wrong, or too loosely, then a loophole might give the cableco's a way to make it more like it used to be (good for them, bad for us).

Is the only difference between the Plus and the Pro the 3TB drive? if so I hope someone figures out how to expand it quickly. Because if they are the same, I'm not paying $200 for an extra 2TB. Not when I just picked up several 3TB drives for $110 each. And the last 2TB drive I picked up earlier this Summer was only $70.

Because eSATA is just an external SATA connection. They don't need to add any additional drivers etc to the code. For USB3 they would need to add drivers for each USB3 chipset they wanted/needed to support.

Hmm, why is that not a problem for computers and now even some phones and tablets with USB ports?

You can buy any USB drive at Best Buy and plug it into a USB port and it just works.

I can understand that USB 2 probably wasn't fast enough for video but USB 3? Or maybe the bus has the potential speed to support it but there's overhead or reliability concerns when it comes to sustaining some minimal threshold.

"Now, eSATA can handle 300 MBps (MegaBytes per second) and USB 3.0 can wheel and deal up to 625 MBps."

"In both cases the real world results were quite a bit slower than their theoretical bests. With reads, my USB (3) drive averaged 90 MBps, while the eSATA drive came in at 75 MBps. When it came to writing to the disk eSATA still processed data at 75 MBps while the USB drive dropped to 62 MBps."

I've never used an external hard drive with a TiVo since that is another point of failure. Plus with the external drive, if it goes belly up you lose all your recordings, from both the internal and external drive. Unless things are different for the Roamio boxes.

That is one feature where the cable companies seem to have done a better job. Since many of them will not lose the recordings on the internal drive if the external one goes belly up.
I've always opted for a larger internal drive than using an external drive to increase storage.

Although I really need a minimum of 3TB of storage. So I either need to be able to expand the Plus Roamio or I have to bite the bullet and just pick up a Pro Roamio.

Hmm, why is that not a problem for computers and now even some phones and tablets with USB ports?

You can buy any USB drive at Best Buy and plug it into a USB port and it just works.

I can understand that USB 2 probably wasn't fast enough for video but USB 3? Or maybe the bus has the potential speed to support it but there's overhead or reliability concerns when it comes to sustaining some minimal threshold.

USB 2.0 is plenty fast for TiVo recording.

The reason eSATA was chosen was for technical reasons, it provides direct communication to the hard drive which is required for security and encryption. They can possibly provide this over USB 3.0, but why? There is absolutely no benefit to using USB 3.0 and eSATA already supports what they need and is more efficient.

The reason eSATA was chosen was for technical reasons, it provides direct communication to the hard drive which is required for security and encryption. They can possibly provide this over USB 3.0, but why? There is absolutely no benefit to using USB 3.0 and eSATA already supports what they need and is more efficient.

USB 3.0 = a connection that doesn't easily just fall out of the connector. I hate eSata for that.

The reason eSATA was chosen was for technical reasons, it provides direct communication to the hard drive which is required for security and encryption. They can possibly provide this over USB 3.0, but why? There is absolutely no benefit to using USB 3.0 and eSATA already supports what they need and is more efficient.

Quote:

Originally Posted by b_scott

USB 3.0 = a connection that doesn't easily just fall out of the connector. I hate eSata for that.

I think for many people the issue isn't really eSata vs USB but more the way TiVo handles exterior storage. At least that is the issue I have, I don't want my exterior storage married to my internal hard drive. I just want it to be an optional storage location and I want to be able to fill as many exterior drives as I want just by plugging them in and moving shows onto them.

I think for many people the issue isn't really eSata vs USB but more the way TiVo handles exterior storage. At least that is the issue I have, I don't want my exterior storage married to my internal hard drive. I just want it to be an optional storage location and I want to be able to fill as many exterior drives as I want just by plugging them in and moving shows onto them.

I thought the rule was that they are required to offer self installs of CableCARDs if they offer self installs of any other equipment. If they don't offer any self installs then I think they are still allowed to require a truck roll. Also I think there are still a few small cable companies with exemptions. TiVo is likely just covering their bases.

That was the rule that went into affect in August 2011. It became applicable to all cable operators in November 2011.

From the FCC web site (empassis mine):

Quote:

Self-install your CableCARD. Effective August 8, 2011, cable operators must allow self-installation of CableCARDs if they allow self-installation of other equipment, such as digital boxes or cable modems. By November 1, 2011, all cable operators must allow self-installation of CableCARDs. Your operator may decline your request for self-installation if your equipment manufacturer or vendor does not provide you with instructions on how to install a CableCARD and offer a toll-free telephone number for product support. FCC Rule 76.1205(b)(1).